The good:The new Dell XPS15z is extremely thin for a midsize laptop, and includes a powerful CPU and midrange GPU, along with a 1080p display and backlit keyboard.

The bad: It’s still not thinner than the 15-inch MacBook Pro, and in our high-end $1,500 configuration, we’d expect longer battery life and a better GPU.

The bottom line:Claiming to be the world’s thinnest Windows laptop, the Dell XPS 15z is a sharp-looking package with upgradable high-end features and a reasonable $999 starting price.

Review:

Dell claims its new XPS 15z is the world’s thinnest 15-inch laptop, or more precisely that it’s the “thinnest 15-inch PC on the planet.” The “PC” distinction is important (although to be more accurate we’d have said “Windows laptop”), because at 0.97 inch, it’s definitely very thin, but it’s still a hair thicker than the 0.95-inch 15-inch MacBook Pro.

Dell‘s XPS laptops are well known for their performance credentials, often packed with high end processors and graphics cards, though lacking the super-flashy chassis that their Alienware brothers are known for. The new generation XPS laptops offer a huge amount of performance, particularly in a small chassis like the new XPS 14, but of course their prices stray above the average laptop these days, even that of a premium laptop.

As always, we have found a way you can get some of the XPS goodness without breaking the bank too badly. Dell is still selling off some of last generation’s 17.3-inch XPS 17 models, packed with a first generation Core i5 processor, 1GB Nvidia GeForce GT435M graphics with Optimus, 4GB RAM, 500GB hard drive, and your choice of upgrades. Unfortunately a Core i7 screamer isn’t available, but your games won’t be held back by the CPU anyway. For the base configuration, Dell normally charges $949, but has dropped it down to a very tasty $699 in the hopes of moving their remaining inventory.

Dell has often been associated with capable but often workhorse systems, but it has regularly tried to go after the premium audience dominated by Apple: the Adamo line was a clear shot across the bow of the MacBook Air, for example. It’s coming back to this arena in a very different way with the XPS 15z, a 15.6-inch system that promises….

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